I Am Number Four [Hardcover]

 

 

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When I saw all of the great reviews that were out there for this book (and the fact that the movie rights to the book were picked up in no time at all after its release), I became very excited to read the book. However... I don't really see what the appeal is with this book, in all honesty. I was really quite disappointed with it, it wasn't the worst book I have ever read, but it by far is not one of my most favourite. I thought that the story behind it had the potential to be really great, but I just don't think that it lived up to such potential.

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS- BE WARNED!*

Lorien was a planet similar to our Earth, housed an extraordinarily powerful group of people, known as the Gard, who possessed certain abilities (ie. telekinesis, invisibility, etc. known as legacies) and whose job was to protect the people of Lorien. Meanwhile, the planet was also home to the Cepate, the keepers of knowledge in a sense, and the guardians of the Gard, looking after the Gard members and guiding them in their discovery of their legacies, the history of the people and the planet and so forth. One day out of the blue, Lorien is attacked by another planet's people, the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians have destroyed their planet through warfare and whatnot and they have set their eyes on the extremely plentiful Lorien. Lorien's people are quickly overtaken by the Mogadorians, primarily because they were so unsuspecting of such an attack. Before all of the people are killed however, 9 young Gard members and their Cepate are gathered together and shipped off to Earth before Lorien is completely overtaken and destroyed, in the hopes that one day they can restore Lorien. The Mogadorians, after destroying Lorien, then set off after the surviving Loriens in the hopes of also destroying them and Lorien's hope of ever being saved. These 9 young children are numbered from 1 to 9 and have a charm placed on them which makes it more difficult for the Mogadorians to kill them, that being that they can only be killed in the order that they come in. A Mogadorian cannot kill, for example, Number Seven before Number Three is killed, as the Mogadorian will suffer tenfold whatever attack is that they place upon Number Seven. The kids will know how many of the other Lorien children before them are killed by a scar that appears around their ankle. It should be mentioned that the charm can be broken if any of the nine children and their Cepates come together, this means that if the charm is broken, any of the children can be killed, the order of their deaths no longer applies. Because so, the Lorien children spread throughout the world in the hopes of never encountering one another and never having the Mogadorians hunt them down (they continuously have to keep moving in order to keep the Mogadorians off their trail).

Enter Number Four, also known as John. One day while he and his Cepate, Henri, are living in a small town, his ankle burns and he discovers that the third Lorien Gard has been killed by the Mogardorians. This means that as he is Number Four, he is next. Him and Henri quickly pack up their belongings and move to another unsuspecting small town, Paradise, Ohio. At this time John's legacies start appearing, some being more difficult to conceal and control (ie. lights coming out of the palms of his hands) and therefore Henri warns him that they will not be able to stay in the town for very long if John draws attention to them, as they will be much easier for the Mogardorians to find. Enter a girl, Sarah, who John falls for extremely quickly, a dorky friend, Sam, who is entirely obsessed with aliens, and Mark, the school bully who focuses in on tormenting John, and Number 6, another Lorien Gard member who breaks the charm protecting the Lorien children, when she comes to help John (Number 4). An event happens which shakes the town and draws attention to John. Henri knows that the Mogadorians will soon be on their trail and whats to leave ASAP, but John, being in love, refuses to leave. The Mogadorians come, a battle ensues, and there is great loss on either side.

The first half of this book is very slow and I found John, aka Number 4, to be extremely one dimensional. He really had no personality whatsoever, which is a shame because had he possessed one, it would have made the story all the better. However, I must admit that I did find the development of John's legacies to be extremely entertaining/ interesting and his learning of the Lorien peoples and past (as provided to him by Henri)... I did find his relationship with Sarah to be somewhat infuriating and his dismissal of Henri's warnings to be even more infuriating. Fortunately the second half of the book picks up with the introduction of Number 6 and the battle between the Gard's and the Mogardorians (so lots of action), but in my opinion it just can't pick the book up from its slump entirely. And as there are to be 6 books in this series, the book just comes to a somewhat of an abrupt end, where it will be picked up on and elaborated upon in the next books, which is kind of a bummer as we have to wait awhile to hear more of their story.

So though I didn't find that the book lived up to its hype whatsoever, it isn't the worst book I have ever read, and I am sure that if you love sci fi/adventure you will find this book to your satisfaction. If you like this book and are looking for similar books I recommend Shades Children by Garth Nix.

The book really did grab my attention. At first. The idea and concept was interesting yet for some reason I can't help but think I'm reading about Superman and his teen years in Smallville. That's not to say the book was bad, it was good, yet there just some parts in it where it made me think why the hype over this book?

The writing was good. I liked how John started developing his powers throughout the book. It was also nice to see that he wasn't about to be bullied around by Mark (who's a total twit but he eventually does learn the error of his ways). He does stick up for himself and does fight back so at least he's got a backbone. He is likable although he's your average every day kid with superpowers. However I couldn't really entirely like him as a character, it just seemed as if he was lacking in personality and there wasn't much to him except that he was not from Earth and has tremendous super powers.

I really did prefer the sidekicks in this novel; Henri, Bernie Kosar, and Sam. All three were my favorites. Both Henri and Bernie deserve a lot of kudos for what they went through for John (and their actions literally drove me to tears). Sam also proved to be a very loyal friend and pull through for John, and their friendship is a good one. It does give John a nice stable element in his life where he's always had to pick up his bags and go whenever things were to go wrong.

The plot was all right. It was really exciting and fast paced for the first part of the novel and as John learns new skills, and learns about his home world and people, you learn more about his background and why he's here with Henri. I liked reading this part of the book, and it also gives you information on Henri and what his purpose is. Everything seems to be going well, including a couple of scraps with Mark, and some troubles with hiding his real identity. Then throughout approximately halfway through the pace slows down. John's fallen in love. For some reason this just slows down everything and it gets annoying and infuriating. John seems to be oblivious to the danger surrounding him, and his romance with Sarah, although sweet, just seems to be more of a page filler than anything else.

At this point of the book, I was starting to get frustrated. I don't really give a dime about Sarah and John. There's killers out there out for John's head and all he's really caring about is when the next time he gets to see Sarah. Oh for crying out loud. Really? you have to have pages and pages of this? I stuck with it, and tolerated it, in the hopes I'll get rewarded in the end.

Yes, I was rewarded! the last third of the novel focuses on a lot of action (and I mean A LOT) and when another of John's kind comes into the picture the action is increased threefold. I loved reading this part. There was so much going on at once but it was such a gripping read you couldn't tear yourself away. The ending doesn't really leave the reader in a cliffhanger but it does point the way for the second book.

Even though the pace does slow down midway, sticking through with it does end up being rewarding. It is a good book for young adult readers and I'm wanting to know what's going to happen next. From what I hear, I'd read the book first then see the movie.

I enjoyed reading I Am Number Four - it is a different, entertaining story. There was excitement, interesting storytelling, and romance. That being said, I also felt like something was lacking, that the book had a potential that it didn't quite live up to.

I thought the premise was fun and intriguing - John is number four of nine aliens from the planet Lorien who arrive on earth about ten years ago with their caregivers fleeing from the Mogadorian invasion that decimates their planet. These nine are entrusted with the responsibility of survival and eventual rebuilding of their planet and culture. The Mogadorians, however, have tracked them to earth an are killing them, but, because of a charm placed on them, they must be killed in order. One, two and three have been killed and John is next on the list. Then, it turns out, more may even be at stake, as the Mogadorians may be trying to take over the Earth as well.

The writing in the book was, at times, amazing and beautiful, and at other times repetitive. There were also a number of sentence fragments which stopped me in my tracks. Mostly I found the beginning and the ending interesting, with it dragging in the middle a bit. There are also a few things that didn't make sense, for example, his dog. John is supposed to be hypersensitive to anything strange going on in his life and he doesn't think it strange that his dog takes off into the woods and appears in an impossible location several seconds later?

The story is told in first person present from John's point of view, something which is very popular these days. This is the first book of this type, with this amount of romance told from a boy's point of view that I have read, so that was different.

Out of all the characters, I found John's friend, Sam, to be the most interesting. He is quirky and nerdy, but develops a great deal in the book. I really felt for him and the loss of his dad. It looks like he will be in the next book, for which I am grateful.

I Am Number Four is the first in a planned series of six. The second book, The Power of Six, has recently been released. I am quite anxious to see where this story goes next.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Generally a good read
The book was generally a good read, it was fast paced you believe in the relationships and you hope for the hero's success. Of course the book was better than the movie.

Published 12 months ago by Mama S

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun read
I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie - and I was glad I did. The book was enjoyable and kept the reader guessing. Read more

Published 12 months ago by alternate reality

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Nine Lorien teenagers were sent to earth to await their legacies, special powers that each possess, in order to return to their planet to save it. Read more

Published 16 months ago by TeensReadToo

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining read but don't expect anything groundbreaking
I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation a couple times and I thought it looked pretty interesting so I checked out the book. I literally read this thing in half a day. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Nick Anand

2.0 out of 5 stars What ever plot I bought this book for evaporated after five chapters
I was really hooked on this book at first. The supernatural and alien concept promised a good read and maybe and new favorite series but I was sadly mistaken. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Sheila Jay

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
I loved this book, could not put it down. It is a modern day Science Fiction type fantasy with a romantic slant to it. Can't wait for the sequel to come out!

Published 17 months ago by kathy

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